Protein for Healthy Living

Protein for Healthy Living.

Recent scientific reseach have created a new understanding of
the role protein plays in a healthy diet and the importance it
plays in weight loss.

According to the latest statistics, the obesity epidemic is
continuing to grow through out the world and shows no signs of
abating any time soon. An astonishing 59.6% of Australian and
New Zealand adults are overweight or obese. And ever more
disturbing, 30% of children from Australia and New Zealand are
clinically overweight!

Those who have adequate protein in their diet, however, may find
they’ve escaped being a part of this alarming trend.

The latest nutritional research indicates that protein has
numerous dietary benefits that give a boost to weight loss and
weight manangement efforts.

One of the principal advantages of protein is that it creates a
feeling of fullness and satisfaction in the body that it makes
over eating less likely.

Besides being filling, protein is a smart addition to any weight
loss or weight manangement program because of the effect it has
on carbohydrate cravings. As research has documented,
carbohydrates trigger the brain to crave more carbohydrates,
leading to a cycle of carbohydrate eating that becomes hard to
control. Protien can block that triggering effect in the brain.
Eating carbs and protein together will reduce the cravings
caused by eating the carbohydrate.

So, you can see why simply adding protein to a meal provides you
with an incredible advantage in your quest to lose or maintain
your weight. But protein provides more than just weight benefits
- it provides an important necessity as well.

Adequate daily protein intake is essential for building and
maintaining lean muscle mass. It may sound like a term used by
atheletes, but in fact, everyone of us has a certain percentage
of lean muscle in their body.

Besides determining how many calories a day you burn, your lean
muscle mass also serves a vital function for those trying to
lose or maintain their weight. If your diet doesn’t contain
enough protein to build and maintain lean muscle, your body will
begin to lose weight from the heart, muscles and organs. This
type of dieting is unsafe and can be fatal.

How much protein do we need on a daily basis? On average, women
need 100g per day while men need 150g per day. Remember though,
as you incorporate protein into your diet, not all protein is
equal when it comes to calories. For example – a serving of
prime rib contains 1,500 calories!

Protein comes from a variety of sources, such as meat, fish,
poultry, eggs, dairy products, nuts and soy products.

The USA Food & Drug Administration approved a dietary health
claim for soy foods, recommending an average daily intake of 25g
soy protein, in addition to a low-fat and low-cholestrol diet,
to reduce the risk of heart disease. Increasingly, health
conscious people are choosing to incorporate soy products, such
as soymilk, soy protien shakes, tofu, soy protien snacks and soy
burgers, into their daily diets.

Protein – it’s nothing less than a nutrition revolution!

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